Electrical power outages occur for a number of reasons including severe weather causing damage to the electrical distribution system, mechanical failures or wildlife interfering with system components. Most of these causes cannot be prevented and may only be repaired after the outage occurs. Some wildlife associated problems, however, may be prevented.
Squirrels, for example, frequently traverse the elevated electrical lines and utility poles and may climb onto the transformers elevated on the utility poles. An insulated bushing sits atop the transformer where the electrical line connects to the transformer. Unfortunately, a potential electrical difference exits between the electrical line and the transformer that may electrocute the squirrel if the squirrel simultaneously contacts the transformer and the electrical line.
Several devices have been utilized to eliminate this problem. A wildlife protection guard, known as the Electrostatic Animal Guard manufactured by 3M, is an example of a device that has been successfully employed for this purpose. The wildlife protection guard is not widely used because installation on the insulated bushing atop an elevated transformer requires that the worker be positioned at a height level with the transformer. A worker is forced to climb the utility pole or be raised by an aerial lift to install each wildlife protection guard.
Once at the proper elevation, the worker loads the wildlife protection guard into a straight tool known as a “shotgun-stick.” Using the shotgun-stick, the worker stabs the wildlife protection guard onto the insulated bushing and activates a triggering mechanism on the shotgun-stick to release wildlife protection guard.
The shotgun-stick is, by design, incapable of being used with extendable poles, or “extendo-sticks,” that extend up to 30 feet and are commonly employed by line-workers to reach from the ground up to the transformers and electrical lines overhead. Attempts have been made to fashion tools for attachment to the extendable pole for placing the wildlife protection guard.
One such attempt included cutting a notch into one end of a block of wood. The block was then taped to a hammer head. A hammer head may be connected to extendable poles and is ordinarily used for replacing blown fuses. The notch in the block of wood would pinch a portion of the wildlife protection guard while the wildlife guard was raised and placed on the insulated bushing on the transformer.
Another such device, the Animal Guard Applicator, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,495 to Anderson. The device disclosed in the Anderson reference proposes to balance the wildlife protection guard on a rake-like structure stabilized with tines.
To this end, a need exists for a device to more safely and effectively place wildlife protection guards on the insulated bushing on transformers elevated on utility poles.